Top 10 Most Iconic Pictures of the American Mafia

Style, money and power. That's three words that come to mind when thinking about the American Mafia, or Cosa Nostra as they like to be called, and hey, who the hell is going to argue with them; especially when another three words that pop into the head might be homicidal, crazy and psychotic!

But as the saying goes a picture paints a thousand words and that is certainly true in the case of these 10 iconic pictures I have picked out that portray every face of the godfathers and gangsters that have infamously woven their way into American history. This really is a collection of the good, the bad and the ugly as these pictures depict all aspects of Mafia life.

10. Al Capone at a baseball game
Arguably the most famous gangster of all time, Al Capone sits alongside his son, Albert (Sonny) Capone, as gets Chicago Cubs player Gaby Hartnett to sign his baseball. When he wasn't watching baseball he could be found battering people to death with a bat!

9. The American Mafia's founding fathers
Charles "Lucky" Luciano and Meyer Lanksy are the two men who were responsible for creating the structure of the American Mafia as we know it today when they created a hierarchy and a commission where all the bosses got to sit at the table to discuss family politics. Here they are in a police line-up (right to left) with Paul Ricca, Salvatore Agoglia, Luciano, Lansky, John Senna and Harry Brown.

8. Carlo Gambino strolling with the police
Gambino is probably the most successful mafia boss of all time, but you wouldn't be able to tell from this picture as he looks more like a mild-mannered grandfather than a man who murdered his way to the top of the mafia tree.

7. Frank Sinatra and the mob
If you read the book Double Cross it alleges that that Frank Sinatra had close ties to the mafia and this picture with some of the biggest Godfathers in history would go some way to backing those claims. In this picture from left to right: Paul Castellano, Gregory DePalma, Sinatra, Tommy Marson, Carlo Gambino, Aladena Fratianno, Salvatore Spatola, Seated: Joseph Gambino, Richard Fusco.

6. Albert Anastasia hit
Police detectives mull around Albert Anastasia's covered body after he was blown away in a barbershop at the Park Sheraton Hotel by Joey Gallo. I guess you could call it a short, back and dies!

5. Murder, Inc.
One of the most vicious groups of murderers in American history. Murder, Inc. was a group of Jewish gangsters who carried out mob hits on behalf of the mafia.

4. John Gotti in court
The tailored suit, the expensive haircut, the intimidating stare. This was one of John Gotti's last moments of freedom before the confession of his underboss Salvatore "Sammy The Bull" Gravano in 1992 would send the Dapper Don to prison for the rest of his life.

3. Carmine Galante chomping down on a cigar
Mafia executions are part of the territory but this picture of Bonanno crime boss Carmine Galante shows them in all their gruesome detail. If you look closely you can see the cigar Galante was smoking moments before he met his death still clenched between his teeth.

2. Joe Valachi gives evidence
Valachi became the first high profile member of Cosa Nostra to break the code of Omertà (code of silence) when he gave evidence against the mob in 1963. His testimony left a lasting blow on the mafia and was the first major crack in breaking the power they had wielded for so many years.

1. St Valentine's Day Massacre
The most famous gangland slaying of them all. In 1929 seven members of Bugs Moran's North Side Irish gang were murdered on Al Capone's orders in the battle to seize control of Chicago. I'm guessing this wasn't an act of love...!

Grand Theft Auto does The Sopranos!

As if Grand Theft Auto wasn't one of the finest games ever made already, my love for it just got as little stronger after discovering this reenactment of the intro sequence to The Sopranos with a GTA spin on it.

This is quite simply brilliant, and since this fantastic piece of YouTube brilliance came my way I have noticed a whole bunch of GTA inspired Hollywood remakes from Terminator 2 to The Godfather. But this one has to be my favourite! So wake up, get yourself a gun, and enjoy...

Lad Lit Book Reviews: Double Cross by Sam and Chuck Giancana

So here’s the problem – I bloody love this book! Okay, so really liking a book isn’t the worst thing in the world – it’s quite good actually. It means the book has done its job, so well done book. The problem is I’m torn between allowing my book crush get in the way of what is real and what is sensationalised and probably not true.

But if I put all of that to one side and forget for one minute about who cares what is fact and what is fiction, this is one hell of a read! Double Cross is the biography of Chicago gangster Sam ‘Mooney’ Giancana as told by his brother Chuck. Giancana was the ruthless mobster who ruled the Chicago Outfit during the mobs heyday in the late 50s and 60s. It was a golden era of American history and some of the most iconic figures from that decade feature prominently within the Giancana legend. None more so than JFK and his infamous assassination in 1963.

Conspiracy theorists would have a field day with this book as Chuck Giancana explains (or claims) just how close the mafia came to having a grip on the White House, as he says it was their blood money that financed the Kennedy Presidential campaign; set-up through the connections of his bootlegger father, Joe Kennedy, to the underworld. The story goes that the moment the Kennedy got into power he turned his back on those who have bankrolled his rise to lead the most powerful country in the world, and hence leaving a few bad guys in fedora's none too happy!

Throw in names like Frank Sinatra, Bobby Kennedy, Phyllis McGuire and Marilyn Monroe, plus a CIA and mob connection to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro and a sprinkle of some of America’s most notorious criminals such as Al Capone, and you have all of the ingredients of a really fantastic story that could easily have fallen off the pages of a Hollywood script.

And this is just one aspect of the life and times of Sam Giancana that his brother Chuck goes into great detail about. Before and after that is the rise and fall of one of the mafia’s most vicious players, starting from his upbringing as a Sicilian immigrant in the early 1900s where his father would mercilessly beat him which undoubtedly went a long way to creating the street thug who murdered his way through the ranks to reach the top of the Chicago mob before his fate was sealed by the very hands in which he had served for his whole life.

The element of doubt on the authenticity of this book that creeps in comes from the fact that Chuck Giancana has woven it all together via recollections of other mobsters and associates of his brother, as well of course as the words straight out of Sam Giancana’s mouth, who's ego was so huge it is not unfair to assess that some of what he said could have been largely exaggerated.

For me, that is an easy stumbling block to get over and it didn’t ruin or tarnish the book for me. Like most books of this ilk, whether it is about a mafia hoodlum or an FBI agent recounting their memories of events, you believe what you choose to believe. For me, there is more than enough evidence that has come from elsewhere to suggest that the mob had their fingers in all of these pies, so what Chuck Giancana says in this book is not out of the realms of possibility. But like any good conspiracy theory, it’s up to you to decide what side of the fence you sit. As for me, I’m firmly on the side of giving this book a huge thumbs up.

The Top 10 Mafia Bosses of all time!

Back in 2003, I was doing a bit of work experience for Front magazine. For those not in the know, Front magazine is a lads mag, affectionately known back then as porn for cowards due to the publications reputation for having more boobs featuring across its pages than the competition.

Yesterday, while I was clearing out from crap from the loft, I came across a March 2003 issue which included a feature I had written about the American Mafia. Part of the feature included a Top 10 of the 'Richest, most ruthless and stylish gangsters ever to rule the mob.'

Even after 10 years, I still think this list rings true, so without further ado, here is my top 10 Mafia bosses of all time as originally published in Front magazine...

1. Carlo Gambino
The King of New York. The undisputed capo di tutti capi (boss of all bosses) of all time. Carlo Gambino is undoubtedly the most successful mob boss in L Cosa Nostra history. Gambino did not look like your average mafioso. Short and bulb-nosed, he enjoyed playing the humble fruit-market shopper on expeditions to the old neighbourhood, much like Mario Puzo's Don Vito Corleone from The Godfather (who was modeled after Gambino). Don Carlo bore more resemblance to a grandfather from a Werther's Originals advert than a cold and calculating mobster who murdered his way to the top of the Mafia.

He rose to family in the crime family that would later bear his name, and played a part in disposing of three of New York's most infamous gangsters: Vincent Mangano, Albert Anastasia, and Vito Genovese.

Mangano was mysteriously disappeared and his body was never found. Anastasia was murdered while he was being groomed in a barbershop chair, and Genovese was removed with the aid of the federal government in a narcotics case. Gambino then took up his position as the most powerful mob boss in the country.

He continued solidifying his position by gorging alliances and carrying out killings; few dared to challenge him. When he died of a heart attack in October 1976, Gambino went out in true Godfather style. Reporters and onlookers were cordoned off from the hundreds of mourners at his funeral, and the hard-faced guards discouraged any would-be intruders. Things were handled with the decorum that Carlo Gambino would've demanded.

2. Tony Accardo
Summing up Tony Accardo's leadership abilities, mobster Paul Ricca once confided to Chicago-American columnist Geaorge Murray that 'Accardo has more brains for breakfast than Al Capone ever had all day.' Posessing a nimble mind and canny instinct for self-preservation, Accardo boasted that he never spent one night in jail. William F. Roemer Jr, one of the most highly decorated agents in the history of the FBI, wrote a book called The Genuine Godfather about his pursuit of Accardo, who ruled the Chicago underworld for 40 years. Roemer described Accardo as being 'America's most dangerous criminal.'

Accardo built up a fearsome reputation for violence and cunning, first making a name for himself as Al Capone's bodyguard and special enforcer. His stock and trade was vengeance. In May 1929, Al Capone discovered that he was the target of a murder plot, hatched Albert Anselmi and John Scalise, a pair of imported Sicilian contract killers who had carried out mob executions for Capone for five years previously. At a lavish dinner party given in their honour, it is alleged that Accardo swung a baseball bat to their traitorous heads, and dumped the bodies in a ditch near Wolf Lake, outside Hammond, Indiana, afterwards. Accardo's respectful mob associates would later pin a nicknameon him that he would carry to the grave: Joe Batters. An attempt on his life was never made - surely the mark of a great boss. Accardo died in 1992 of heart problems.

3. Charles Luciano
Time magazine said it best when the editorial read: 'He was born and died in Italy, yet the influence on America of a grubby street urchin named Salvatore Lucania ranged from the lights of Broadway to every level of law enforcement, from national politics to the world economy. First, he reinvented himself as Charles Luciano. Then he reinvented the Mafia.'

He received the nickname 'Lucky' after surviving a gangland ride in 1929, in which he was beaten, stabbed repeatedly and had his throat slashed, before being thrown from a car and left for dead.

It seemed Luciano's lucky finally ran out in 1936 when he was arrested and sentenced to 30 to 50 years imprisonment for running a prostitution racket. The underground insisted that the case was a set-up.

But after 10 years, Luciano was paroled due to 'wartime services to his country.' On his release, Luciano was deported to Italy where he continued to influence the American Mafia and receive his fair cut.

4. Al Capone
His name, Alphonse Capone, is synonymous worldwide with 'Chicago gangster.' Capone climbed to the top of the Mafia ladder by murdering anyone who got in his way during the prohibition era. Selling bootleg booze - claiming he was simply offering a 'public service' and 'providing what the people want' - made the Chicago outfit millions, and made Capone Public Enemy Number One.

5. John Gotti
He was known as a dangerous mobster in La Cosa Nostra circles, and the Feds hated him with a passion, but he was a superstar to the people of New York. John Gotti was a Mobstar.

His love of the finer things in life helped him obtain the nickname The Dapper Don. After beating case after case, the media then renamed Gotti The Teflon Don. But in 1992 the Feds finally found a case that would stick.

At trial, prosecutors used the testimony of Gotti's turncoat under boss Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano to take down The Dapper Don. The most damning testimony came when he told how he, Gotti and other insurgents killed the Gambino family boss Paul Castellano and took over his crime family.

But ultimiately it was Gotti's own words that would hammer the nail in the coffin. Gotti had a loose tongue, and FBI surveillance tapes happened to record him when he boasted to a fellow mobster: 'You tell him, I, me, John Gotti, will sever his motherfucking head!' The ruthless John Gotti was jailed for life.

6. Frank Costello
For all the muscle involved in organised crime, Frank Costello was the brains that smoothed the judges, police and politicians that kept the machine running. His contacts throughout city hall and across the country, along with his ability to slip in and out of different parts of society, earned him the nickname 'Prime Minister Of The Underground.'

A psychiatrist might deduce much from the behaviour of a gangster whose obsession with 'looking aces' was more important than avoiding a criminal conviction. And yes, just like a scene out of The Sopranos or Analyze This, Costello did have a psychiatrist.

When Costello died in 1972 his widow, Bobbie, insisted that none of his underworld cronies show up or send flower-bedecked tributes. One who did show up was a distant cousin who, as Costello's wife turned to leave the grave site, leaned over and asked in her ear: 'What are you going to do with Frank's clothes?' The widow walked off without answering, but perhaps dapper Frank would have appreciated the interest.

7. Vito Genovese
Don Vitone - as Genovese preferred to be called - can be credited as much as any single mafioso for keeping the mob in the narcotics business - a trade forbidden by mafia law.

In 1937, Genovese found himself facing a murder rap. Instead of hanging around to face the music, he fled to Italy. He succeeded in ingratiating himself with Benito Mussolini, despite the fascist leader's ruthless campaign to destroy the Italian Mafia.

Genovese finally returned to his old stomping ground in the US after the war, but he didn't stand trial, because the key witness in his murder case mysteriously 'disappeared'.

Genovese's obsession to become Capi di tutti capi eventually cost him dearly. After an attempted assassination on Frank Costello, fellow mob bosses had finally had enough of Don Vitone's power-hungry ways. Genovese found himself on the wrong end of a narcotics charge, set up by Lucky Luciano, Carlo Gambino, and Meyer Lansky, and spent the rest of his days behind bars.

8. Sam Giancana
In Hollywood, Sam Giancana was the Mafia. His friends included Frank Sinatra and Marylin Monroe. He was, a police report stated, 'A snarling, sarcastic, ill-tempered, sadistic psychopath.' According to the book Double Cross, Giancana not only played a part financing John F. Kennedy's presidential campaign, but was also involved in the President's assassination.

9. Albert Anastasia
Albert Anastasia was a thug: evil and sadistic. His rise to power was as brutal as his fall. On 25 October 1957, Anastasia entered the barbershop of the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York. His bodyguard parked the car. While Anastasia relaxed in the chair with his eyes closed, two men, scarves covering their faces, barged in and blew Albert Anastasia away.

10. Santo Trafficante, Jr
Succeeding his father as mob boss of the Tampa branch in 1954, Santo Trafficante Jr enjoyed more than 30 years as one of the country's most powerful mob bosess. Trafficante Jr can be linked to at least four gangland slayings - including that of Albert Anastasia - and was involved in a plot to assassinate Cuban president Fidel Castro.

Lad Lit Book Reviews: The Godfather by Mario Puzo

For anyone who has not even heard of Mario Puzo’s crime epic The Godfather, I would like you to leave this blog immediately! Seriously, just go. Walk out the door. Don’t turn around now. You, my friend, are not welcome anymore! Oh dear, did that really just happen?

Back to matters at hand, and that being the single greatest piece of literature ever written. There you go, I’ve said it. I can’t even begin to express how much I love this book. Even the old saying ‘The book is better than the movie’ doesn’t even begin to do it justice, and I think the screen adaptation is pretty awesome as well!

The Godfather is truly a literary classic. Set against the backdrop of 1940s New York, it remains a timeless tale as Puzo concentrates on the relationship of its main protagonist rather than the era that surrounds them. At the heart of the story is the Corleone family and the criminal underworld in which they are fully immersed in. The characters are wonderfully crafted from the mild-mannered yet powerful head of the family, Don Vito Corleone, to his live-wire eldest son, Sonny, and of course Michael, the cold and calculated reluctant air to the throne. They are seamlessly woven into this brilliant tale of power, murder, and honour.

Controversy surrounded this book upon its publication in 1969 due to the fact that it romanticized the American Mafia and portrayed them as loyal serving men of honour who only killed their own. But my opinion is that just shows that people back then were as quick to jump on the PC bandwagon as they are today. In many ways, this novel was to that era what computer games like Grand Theft Auto are today. It's just a story, and a great one at that. Get over it!

For those of you that have not seen the film or read the book, I won’t spoil it for you. But what I will say is that even though I knew what was coming at the end (I’d seen the film before reading the book), I was still totally blown away with the way Puzo articulates on the page the thrilling finale which takes you by complete surprise.

Each and every character play their part in bringing this together, and the flashbacks to Don Vito's roots in Sicily and his early days as an Italian immigrant in New York, only serve to offer more depth to the background of this family and at the same time offers the reader a greater insight into the man who has ruled over this crime family.

Mario Puzo set the bar enormously high with this book, and I’m not sure any other mafia fictional story has ever been able to come close. Over the years he has brought the characters back to life through a number of sequels and prequels, and for anyone who is a fan of the original, they are well worth a read as well.

Lad Lit Book Reviews: Donnie Brasco by Jospeh D. Pistone

The term ‘blew me away’ is perhaps used far too often when it comes to book reviews, but I can safely say that this is one book that left me truly astonished and open-mouthed with every page turn.

Special FBI Agent Jospeh. D Pistone spent five years working undercover as a mafia associate in the Bonnano New York crime family. A film was made in 1997 based on his life starring Johnny Depp and Al Pacino, but like most films based on books, you only get half the story on the big screen.

Pistone’s memoirs delve deep into the background of his story of how a 3-month undercover operation going after a truck hijacking ring turns into a him living, breathing, sleeping, and eating his way through the Mafioso lifestyle.

Back in the late 70s and early 80s, the US government waged a war against the powerful crime families running New York, but unlike today’s sophisticated techniques of undercover operations, Pistone was almost left to make up the rules as he went along.

He encounters some very dangerous people along the way, including an incident when he is led down into a basement and told that unless his story and background checks out, he faces a bullet in the head. Not your every day boardroom situation!

But this isn’t just a book about the violence and cold stark reality of mobsters who once ran the American underworld. Pistone tells of the impact this ‘lifestyle’ had on his family. And at times you can’t help but laugh at some of the situations and stories Pistone relays, especially those that involve Lefty Ruggiero; the gangster ‘Donnie Brasco’ becomes closest to.

Pistone’s story is one of true courage. His testimony eventually led to hundreds of arrests and played a major role in the foundations of the American Mafia crumbling to its knees.

This is a truly enjoyable thrill-ride of a read, and one which you need to keep reminding yourself is true! If you only ever read one more gangster book (after The Godfather of course), then make it this one!

Lad Lit Book Reviews! Accardo: The Genuine Godfather by William F. Roemer, Jr

Any man that is nicknamed Joe Batters because he beat two men to death with a baseball bat is probably not the sort of man you want to mess with. Add to the fact that he got his monicker from Al Capone – the most notorious Mafioso of them all – only adds fuel to fire that this is one vicious gangster.

And who else better to tell his story than the one man who tried for years – yet never succeeded – to bring Tony Accardo to justice than former FBI Agent William F. Roemer, Jr. Whilst the likes of Capone and John Gotti will inevitably go down in American folklore as the two most well-known gangsters of the 20th Century, it was men like Accardo who achieved the highest status within their criminal underworld circles as one of the most powerful Mafia bosses in the history of the American Mafia.

For seven decades Accardo, a.k.a. Big Tuna, was embroiled in a life of crime, from his teenage years in street gangs to being recruited as a member of the Chicago Outfit in 1926. Roemer maps out Accardo’s life as a career criminal from his participation in the infamous St Valentine’s Day Massacre to seizing control of The Outfit in the 1940s.

Throughout the book Roemer speaks in a tone of grudging respect for Joe Batters (being a good family man, his foresight to expand the former Capone regime into new territories that greatly increased their power and wealth). but at the same time keeps the reader focused on the fact that this was a ruthless and merciless man, who had murdered his way to the top with some incredibly vicious and torturous methods.

Roemer uses his many experiences with Accardo and The Outfit to try and paint us a picture of how this criminal organization used the great wealth made from the prohibition era to sustain a period of dominance that would see the American Mafia wield power the like they have never seen again. Men like Accardo made that happen, rather than the ‘celebrity’ gangsters that are referenced in popular culture. Mobster Paul “The Waiter” Ricca summed Joe Batters up by saying, "Accardo had more brains for breakfast than Capone had in a lifetime."

This story is not simply portrayed as a ‘Good vs Evil’ story which would have been easy coming from a law enforcement officer who was never able to put one of his biggest nemesis’ behind bars. Instead Roemer takes a more human approach to the murderous men he is writing about; such as detailing their wishes for their sons to never follow them into this life.

In the end Roemer can only reflect on the ground work that the FBI laid in those days to help bring the mob of today to its knees. Men like Accardo will remain infamous through the annals of time, but that part of history that should not be neglected. After all, we are talking about a street thug who was expelled from school at 14 and went on to become leader of one of the most powerful – if not the most powerful – factions of the American underworld, before dying at the age of 86 a free man. Lessons can only be learned from men who rule with an iron fist just like Joe Batters did.

Perhaps not my favourite book about the American Mafia, but certainly worth a read if this is a genre that interests you.

Lad Lit Book Reviews: The Bootleggers by Kenneth Allsop

Imagine wandering into your local with the boys on a Saturday night for that first drink of the day, only to be told that the sale and manufacturing of alcohol had been banned and deemed illegal to do so across the nation. You can almost hear the uproar from the daily Weatherspoon contingent of heavy drinkers, bemoaning the fact that they have nowhere else to spend their job seekers allowance!

I’m not too sure if that is a sad indictment of the fact we rely so heavily on alcohol as part of our social expression, or the fact that we would be well within our rights to rally against the Government to put forward our right to drink Jägerbomb’s when we want!

Whatever the answer, this is what happened in 1920 in the United States when the US Congress enacted a law which did indeed ban the sale and manufacture of alcohol nationwide, and in Kenneth Allsop’s book, he tackles the prohibition era which still remains as popular as ever in film, music, and of course books!

The 13-year ban would play a major role in the rise of the Chicago Outfit headed up by Al Capone, and Allsop not only covers this but also explains the historical and political reasons that led to the ban. Men such as Capone, Johnny Torio, Dion O'Banion and Big Jim Colosimo would seize on the advantage of supply and demand, while law enforcement turned a blind eye as long as they were rewarded. For a law that was created to improve the moral compass of a nation, it backfired spectacularly and simply created a trail of blood that funded street thugs to unimaginable wealth.

This is a good account of the rise of Chicago gangsters, and one that should be able to hold the attention of even a casual reader interested in the subject. Even though Allsop doesn’t shy away from the facts and discusses the frightening actions these men took to clasp Chicago in their grip, he also manages to capture the era through a dry sense of humour which keeps the book moving along at a good pace, and his knowledge on the subject shines through.

I can only really compare this book against the numerous other books I have read on the subject of the American Mafia, and that is the only reason it probably does get higher than a 3-star rating - there are other books I've simply enjoyed more. Due to the fact that the book was written in 1961, Allsop was probably unable to report on some key facts (such as the name and antics of one Joe Kennedy). All in all though, a thorough description of this infamous yet iconic era.

Lad Lit Book Reviews: Mafia Dynasty by John H. Davis

If Carlsberg did New York crime organizations...

The Gambino branch of New York's five families has been led by some of the most powerful and well-known gangsters in American history. From its rise to prominence in the roaring 20s right through to the 80s and 90s under the leadership of one man who would become the most infamous mobster since Al Capone, Mafia expert John H. Davis takes us through six decades of greed, murder, deceit, and ruthless power struggles in Mafia Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the Gambino Crime Family.

Davis has put together a well-written account that not only focuses on the rise and fall of the Gambino Family, but the history of the American Mafia in general, starting in the prohibition era when pockets of Sicilian immigrants took advantage of the fact alcohol had been outlawed to create their fortune.This would lead the way for the Italian/Jewish faction of Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, Frank Costello, and Benjamin 'Bugsy' Siegel to not only take control of the New York crime family, but to create The Commission; a corporate business-like code of conduct and chain of command that would be rolled out across the country and take the Mafia to another level.

The length of the book (500 plus pages), rarely seems a chore to read as Davis guides the reader through a whirlwind of historical theatre and drama. Despite featuring such unruly characters as Albert Anastasia (who was part of a group of ruthless murderers called Murder, Inc.) and Carlo Gambino who seized control in the 1950s of the family which would eventually bear his name, Davis uses all of this as a prelude to lay the foundations to focus on John Gotti; the man who would go on the feature on the front of Time magazine.

A seasoned Mafia expert or fan of the genre might not find anything new in this book that they didn't already know, but for the casual reader it is the perfect guide to paint the picture of the Gambino's. Personally that really works for me, because I have read other books on the subject who attempt to dig so deep to reveal every intricate detail of the history of the mob that you get a little bogged down, and for that reason I give this book two very big thumbs up.

Lad Lit Book Reviews: Bound By Honor by Bill Bonanno

Perhaps a better name for this book should be Boast By Honor. After all, this books boasts that it's 'The fascinating true story of the powerful crime family that inspired the The Godfather.' It also boasts of Mafia ties to the likes of JFK and the Hollywood elite. And Bill Bonanno does plenty of boasting about his own credentials within one of the most powerful crime organisations in American history.

Bound By Honor isn't a bad book, and it's first-hand account of an era that gave their names to New York's Five Families (Lucchese, Bonanno, Gambino, Genovese, and Colombo) is certainly unique. But... having read a number of books on the subject, I can't help but think that old Bill does half try and pour on a large dose of that 'Romanticizing the Mob' cocktail! Honour, tradition, taking care of our own, etc etc.

At the heart of the book there is a good story. The relationship of John. F Kenedy's father, Joe, with the mob is well-documented elsewhere in his role as a prohibition bootlegger, so it comes as no surprise that he might have had close connections with Bill's father, Joseph Bonanno; a man who became one of the most powerful and colourful men in Mafia history.

But the line about 'Two proud men, one named Bonanno, the other named Kennedy, dream of their sons taking over their dynasties-each taking a different, but equally powerful pat...' Fuhgeddaboudit! It all sounds a little too Hollywood for me at times, especially as it implied that Bill was the inspiration for Mario Puzo's Michael Corleone character. Hmmm, hell of a boast there Bill...!

I don't want to keep taking digs at this book, because I did actually enjoy it. It has some fascinating insights into an era of the Mob that will never certainly be seen again (and for good reason!), but they mainly include the stories about Bill's father than they do about him. Tales about the Apalachin meeting, the plot to assassinate fellow crime lords Carlo Gambino and Tommy Lucchese, and The Banana War. In many circles Bill was considered 'too weak' to lead a crime family, and he certainly does not come across as fierce as some of his counterparts.

At the end of the day, I did find this an enjoyable read, but I took a lot things with a pinch of salt. Bill Bonanno seems compelled to try and put his memoirs in the same ilk as The Godfather, when the reality is you only have to read something like Murder Machine by Gene Mustain and Jerry Capeci to realise this image couldn't be any further from the truth! I'd recommend giving it a read if you are interested in that era, but I'm not too sure I'd go around boasting about it.